Shingles Vaccines Run Low

Pharmacists Call for Increased Supply

Pharmacists across the country are sounding the alarm after an unprecedented demand for the shingles vaccine has left many providers in short supply, even as the manufacturer of the vaccine desperately tries to produce and ship more.

Pharmacists with Bon Secours St Francis Health System told the Greenville News that doses of the vaccine are arriving sporadically, and that supply is gone as soon as they get it.

Shingles, a viral condition with symptoms that include fever, fatigue, headaches and chills, following by painful rashes, is caused by the same virus that leads to chickenpox.

The illness can stay dormant in recipients for years, before becoming active again.

That’s why all healthy adults over the age of 50 should get two doses of the vaccine to ensure they don’t develop the illness.